ROANOKE, Va. – The city of Roanoke continues to see a rise in gun violence.
This weekend, another string of shootings left three people dead within 24 hours.
These three deaths mark 26 homicides in the city this year, according to Roanoke Police – a number Roanoke hasn’t seen since the 70s, Roanoke’s Interim Chief Jerry Stokes said.
The first shooting took place Sunday morning at 4 a.m. where one adult man was shot and killed.
The next took place Sunday night right before 11 p.m. where two adults were shot and killed, a man and a woman, and another man was hurt.
Stokes said the shootings over the weekend and the majority of the shootings in the city are not random.
“This year fewer juveniles involved. The age range of offenders is really spread out, so there’s just that interpersonal relationship violence. A disagreement, that’s exactly what occurred this weekend, where disagreements escalated into someone feeling necessary to use a firearm,” said Interim Chief Stokes.
As far as the new gun violence initiative, Ceasefire: Victory in the Valley, leaders said they will continue to push forward and not lose hope in their effort to curb gun violence.